Smile in the Sky
4.12.2008

At sunset, Monday's western sky showed off stunning colors and dramatic clouds reflected in Brisbane Water on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It also featured the remarkable conjunction of the crescent Moon, Venus, and Jupiter forming a twilight smiley face.

Earthshine and Venus Over Sierra de Guadarrama
28.03.2012

What just above that ridge? The Moon. Specifically, the Earth's Moon was caught just above the horizon in a young crescent phase. The familiar Moon might look a bit odd as the exposure shows significant Earthshine -- the illumination of the part of the Moon hidden from direct sunlight by the sun-reflecting Earth.

The Nebra Sky Disk
18.03.2018

It is considered the oldest known illustration of the night sky. But what, exactly, does it depict, and why was it made? The Nebra sky disk was found with a metal detector in 1999 by treasure hunters near Nebra, Germany, in the midst of several bronze-age weapons.

Moon, Four Planets, and Emu
7.02.2019

A luminous Milky Way falls toward the horizon in this deep skyscape, starting at the top of the frame from the stars of the Southern Cross and the dark Coalsack Nebula. Captured...

Three Planets by the Sea
2.07.2005

On Tuesday, June 28th, the setting Sun flooded the horizon with a beautiful warm light in this view from the beach beside the pier at Brighton in Adelaide, South Australia. The Sun also illuminated three planets gathered in the western sky, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn.

Artemis 1 Moonshot
18.11.2022

When the Artemis 1 mission's Orion spacecraft makes its November 21 powered flyby of the Moon, denizens of planet Earth will see the Moon in a waning crescent phase. The spacecraft will approach...

APOD: 2024 April 22 Б Moon and Smoke Rings from Mt Etna
21.04.2024

Yes, but can your volcano do this? To the surprise of some, Mt. Etna emits, on occasion, smoke rings. Technically known as vortex rings, the walls of the volcano slightly slow the outside of emitted smoke puffs, causing the inside gas to move faster.

NGC 6992: A Glimpse of the Veil
28.09.2001

After 5,000 years, the gorgeous Veil Nebula is still turning heads. Cataloged as NGC 6992, these glowing filaments of interstellar shocked gas are part of a larger spherical supernova remnant known as the Cygnus Loop or the Veil Nebula -- expanding debris from a star which exploded over 5,000 years ago.

Earth and Moon from MESSENGER
1.09.2010

What does Earth look like from the planet Mercury? The robotic spacecraft MESSENGER found out as it looked toward the Earth during its closest approach to the Sun about three months ago. The Earth and Moon are visible as the double spot on the lower left of the above image.

Morning, Planets, Moon, and Montreal
19.03.2020

Dawn's early light came to Montreal, northern planet Earth, on March 18, the day before the vernal equinox. At the end of that nearly equal night the Moon stands above a dense constellation of urban lights in this serene city and skyscape. Of course the Moon's waning crescent faces toward the rising Sun.